"Ready for Change", an association of representatives from science and administration, has launched a call for action called "For a socially just way of life and economy that is compatible with the climate and nature: Drastically reducing energy and resource consumption", which can be supported on the website https://www.bereit-zum-wandel.de/. On August 31, Prof. Dr. Stefan Heiland, TU Berlin, and Danny Püschel, Naturschutzbund Deutschland, NABU, handed over the appeal to Sylvia Kotting-Uhl MdB, Chairwoman of the Committee for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in the German Bundestag.
The initiators* describe the appeal as follows:
A good life and a safe future are fundamental rights of all people. Our way of life and economy has made this possible for many people, especially in the rich countries of the global North. However, their immense need for resources and energy has been and continues to be at the expense of other people, especially in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and is leading to environmental destruction, species extinction and climate change, thus endangering the basis of our existence.
Changed handling with energy and resources - equal to renunciation?
We must therefore drastically reduce our consumption of materials and energy. Only in this way can we meet our global responsibility for a humane future. Changes associated with this are often equated with renunciation, a taboo concept in our society. But: Due to our way of life, we already do without many things today, such as
- a climate in which torrential rain, destructive storms, drought and heat waves, floods and landslides are the exception, not the rule
- on social justice at local, national and global level
- on clean air, biodiversity and experiencing nature
- on security of food and water supply for many people
- to public spaces in our cities that are noiseless, can be used in a variety of ways and are safe for traffic
- and through all this to a good life and a secure future for many people.
The call calls on all socially relevant decision-makers*, especially federal and state governments, to live up to their responsibility and take effective measures to counteract the threat to the foundations of life. In particular, it calls for honesty in communication and the reconciliation of different goals, appropriate framework conditions for a climate- and post-climate compatible way of life, the use of all potentials for reducing energy consumption, and an exemplary function of governmental and public institutions.
Initiators / Authors
Dr. Lars Berger, Research Associate at the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Department for Principles, Integrative Nature Conservation and Sustainable Use, Bonn; Anja Bierwirth, Researcher in the field of climate protection, Cologne; Dr. Lars-Arvid Brischke, ifeu - Institut für Energie- und Umweltforschung Heidelberg gGmbH, Berlin office; Dr. Bernd Demuth, TU Berlin, Department of Landscape Planning and Landscape Development; Dr. Den-nis Eversberg, Head of Junior Research Group, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Institute for Sociology; Dr. Corinna Fischer, Frankfurt, Research Associate at the Öko-Institut, Dipl.- Ing. Jörg Göpfert, Head of Studies Environmental and Social Issues, Protestant Academy Saxony-Anhalt e.V., Lutherstadt Wittenberg; Dr. Gregor Hagedorn, Initia-tor Scientists for Future, Berlin; Prof. Dr. Dieter Haselbach, Center for Cultural Research, Berlin; Prof. Dr. Stefan Heiland, TU Berlin, Department of Landscape Planning and Landscape Development; Leon Leuser, adelphi, Berlin; Danny Püschel, NABU, Berlin; Dr. Corinna Vosse, Academy for Sufficiency, Reckenthin.
